R07 Woes For Chevy’s Top Dogs

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Motors, they are a changin’.

Or was that “times”? Well, that wasn’t the case in Daytona this afternoon.

It would seem that teams running Hendrick engines, at least 6 (includes Nemecheck and Riggs), would be changing engines before the Duel’s tomorrow afternoon.

But wait, we’re not stopping there. Toyota is also have problems with their engines. In fact, the exact same problem. To the extent that TRD is sending new engines straight from California, post haste.

The problem, for you engine techs out there, is that the coating on the cam shaft is coming off, getting on the lifters and filtering through the engine.

Clint Bowyer is also changing an engine today, but it was unrelated to the above problem according to SPEED.

What this means is that the teams who have changed engines prior to their Duel will have to start at the back of their assigned heat. Once the Duel’s have run, all teams may freely make an engine change without penalty.

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Filed Under: Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Daytona, Drivers, Furniture Row Racing #78, Haas CNC Racing #66, Hendrick Motorsports #24, Hendrick Motorsports #25, Hendrick Motorsports #48, Hendrick Motorsports #5, Hendrick Motorsports #88, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Joe Nemechek, Nascar, Scott Riggs, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tracks





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Saturday February 2, 2008
11:34pm UTC
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Casey Mears

• 2007 Stats

  • Organization: Hendrick Motorsports
  • Car Number: 25
  • Crew Chief: Darian Grubb
  • Sponsor: GMAC/National Guard
  • Points: 15th :: 3949 :: -2774
  • Starts: 36
  • Poles: 1
  • Wins: 1
  • Top 5′s: 5
  • Top 10′s: 10
  • Winnings: $4,179,200

• 2008 Preview

  • Organization: Hendrick Motorsports
  • Car Number: 5
  • Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
  • Sponsor: Kellogg’s

One may consider Casey Mears as the odd man out at Hendrick Motorsports for 2008. While it’s true that he hasn’t yet risen to the superstar level of his three teammates, that’s one of Casey’s biggest advantages. He can fly below the radar.

Casey’s first win in Cup came once he moved to Hendrick, and he showed steady improvement through his first year. If he comes out running as well as he was last fall, he’ll be a threat to make the chase.

Note: information is accurate as of date published. Check Thunder Lounge for additional updates and information.

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Filed Under: Casey Mears, Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #25, Hendrick Motorsports #5, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Sprint Cup, Teams





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday October 3, 2007
3:41pm UTC
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Welcome to the first edition of WTF? Wednesday™.

A brief synopsis: Every Wednesday, we’re going to go the extra mile (and possibly throw “the flag”) to ask the all inevitable question that is lurking on everyone’s mind. WTF? If it’s smelling funny, and has to do with NASCAR, we’re going to ask it.

On to this weeks column.

Kyle Bush and his manifold of gold

As you may or may not have heard, NASCAR failed the #5 of Kyle Bush after he swept through (again) to Victory Lane in the Busch Race at Kansas.

They “deemed” his intake manifold to be “illegal”. Yet, here it is Wednesday already and there hasn’t been a word about it since Sunday. WTF?

Hendrick says it’s legit, and that it’s no different than other times. In fact, they even sent one into NASCAR and they inspected it for 2 days earlier last week.

So, what’s “good to go” this week may be “illegal” the next? WTF?

Late this afternoon, NASCAR announced a “fine” of $10,000 for Mike Bumgarner, the crew chief for Kyle Bush in the Busch Nationwide Series for violations found post-race at Kansas.

Bruton Smith “may” build a new “Charlotte”

Bruton wants a drag racing venue at his current location in the capital of NASCAR. Cool, he’s done it at Bristol and Texas to name a few. He gets the required zoning, and begins.

All of a sudden, the City Council (we’re talking Concord, not “technically Charlotte”) decided the other night to overturn the zoning for the area, leaving Mr. Smith in the middle of a project which (currently) can’t be used. WTF?

Supposedly the “City Council” wanted to pull the reins on all the “noise” in the area, as it’s building up around the track in terms of both business and residential neighbors. OK, whatever.

So, Bruton laid out the terms for all to see. If that’s the way it’s going to be, and “noise” is such a concern, I want my tracks together. If I need to relocate my venues to another part of town, I will.

Huh?

Mr. Bruton Smith went on to compare it to a stick/ball team building a new arena in town. It’s still there, just in a different location. This isn’t a ploy or a threat. It’s the facts. If he has to move it to another area of town, he will. He’s already scouting land around the Charlotte area, and I’d bet there’s a few communities welcoming the move with open arms.

So you’ll hear about Charlotte closing, but really it’s just moving to another side of town.

The question is, what would the track be like? Would it mirror the current configuration? Let’s hope not.

Bruton Smith has a few things at his disposal now. He’s got raw data from various sources, and I’d be willing to bet that if indeed a deal can’t be reached, and he does build a new facility, that it will be the best one on the circuit. He knows what is working, and where the future is headed. Expect the facilities to be top notch, and something viable for not only today, but for decades to come.

What about the track itself? Would it be the same thing, or could it be something unique? Here’s a chance to shine. Do something that hasn’t/isn’t being done. Make that track even more special than it already is. 1.5 miles in length? Nah. 2 miles? Maybe, but Michigan and Cali-bore-nia already do it. 1 mile? Dover, New Hampshire. 1.75 miles? 1.25 miles? Hmmm, 600 miles is divisible evenly at 1.25 miles, 1.75 is a tick off, but almost another full lap.

With all the data available, the chance to truly make a “Beast of the Southeast” exists. The fans would dig it (who wants another cookie?), the drivers would dig it, and most of all it would be something different.

We’ll see what happens on that front, but for now in terms of this “out of nowhere” deal, WTF?

Kansas

We aren’t in Kansas anymore, but thoughts sure haven’t left there.

Why was a race that had not a chance of ending before darkness resumed? WTF?

OK, if I had paid to be there, I’d want as much show as possible.

“Technically”, if all the remaining laps went green it could have made the distance. NASCAR isn’t that dumb, so they said we’re going to 225. WTF?

The thing is, when has there been an opportunity to restart a race at all? It would either:
a) go way into the night
b) not enough daylight left, and no lights available
c) wasn’t enough left for it to be worth it.

Kansas was what, 12 or so laps past halfway? NASCAR made the call to continue with as much of a show as possible, which was a good call for fans, just maybe not for your driver. Then again, maybe your driver came out better than if it had been stopped? Then again, the one who would have benefited most from not resuming, ended up with the bonehead move of the race. “Hey Smoke, there’s smoke coming out of your tire.” But, I digress.

Then you have the finish. Biffle cut the motor off coming out of 4 on the final lap, to make sure he had enough fuel to do a burn out. He had half a gallon left, by the way, but NASCAR made him walk over to Victory Lane. WTF? Why couldn’t the guy do a burnout? WTF?

“Da rules” state a reasonable speed, and NASCAR said it was. Some of the competitors didn’t think it was, so they passed under yellow. NASCAR said the field was frozen, so that was that. OK, but also if you pass under yellow, don’t you get a penalty? So if that’s true, and Biffle wasn’t maintaining a reasonable speed (almost half the pace car speed as he crossed the line), then wouldn’t Casey Mears have won with Jeff Gordon finishing second? But, the field was frozen and Biffle maintained a reasonable speed. WTF?

Not even the mighty scoring loops of NASCAR got it right. It had Bowyer listed at 1st, followed by Johnson. Talk about a Charlie Foxtrot drill. Anyone want to wager about a slight modification to the wording in “Da Rules” about this for next season? If there isn’t, we have our last WTF?

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Filed Under: Busch Series, Casey Mears, Charlotte/Lowe's, Clint Bowyer, Drivers, Features, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports #24, Hendrick Motorsports #25, Hendrick Motorsports #48, Hendrick Motorsports #5, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Kansas, Kyle Busch, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Richard Childress Racing #07, Roush Racing #16, Teams, The Chase, Tony Stewart, Tracks, WTF? Wednesday's





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday May 2, 2007
9:45am UTC
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Was Casey Mears in a hole from the start? We’re not questioning Hendrick Motorsports’ dedication to their teams (at least not with Casey) but looking back over the past decade, the performance of the 25 has been spotty at best. With many changes taking place in that time span, in both driver and team, it’s easy to see that a possible answer is a lack of continuity. Then again, if it were that easy, Hendrick would have fixed it a long time ago.

As the 5, 24 and the 48 continue to run far above the 25 we can only wonder what is going on. Many will tell you that the 25 is flat out cursed, their luck loans from the bank rarely meeting approval. So far the 2007 season for Casey Mears is no exception. New driver, new crew chief, and several other changes bring the 25 team a fresh start but the end results have been dismal thus far. However, the dedication of Hendrick to the 25 team has never been stronger.

Continuing analysis of the past decade of the 25 team, their “best years” surprisingly came with Brian Vickers in 2005 and 2006. They finished 17th and 15th, respectively, their best showing since 2001 when they finished 18th. All the while the 5, 24, and starting with Johnson’s rookie season in 2002 the other teams have flourished.

So what’s the deal? It’s been said many a time that the 25 has been the R&D entry that feeds information up the food chain. We won’t argue that, but with Casey’s ties to Hendrick and the family that should no longer be the case. That being said, it’s a transition year for the 25 as they move into a different role/capacity in the stable.

In the big picture of things, I’d consider being in the top 25 by Homestead a success. Granted it isn’t good compared to where the other 3 will most likely finish up, but under the circumstances it isn’t a wash. There are many adjustments being made, such as Casey adjusting to the set-ups and the team adjusting to what Casey needs in a set-up, as well as the team building cohesion and trust. It’s rare these things can happen overnight, The Zippy/Stewart or Knaus/Johnson instant combinations are exceptions, and not the rule. Hendrick is willing to give that team the time it needs to come up to speed, and their luck so far in 2007 can’t go on forever, can it?

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Filed Under: Casey Mears, Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #25, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Teams





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